Food. Clothes. Travel.

Cheat Lime Pie

There’s this restaurant in Nashville, called Germantown Cafe. It’s easily one of the best restaurants in the city, and last August, I went there for Restaurant Week with the other girls who lived in the Chi O House. We had a three course meal, with our choice of appetizer, entree, and dessert. I’m not sure if I ever had key lime pie before this, but it was a muggy summer day, and I saw a citrus dessert on the menu, so I decided to go for it. I don’t remember what I ordered as my appetizer, or what I had for my entree, but I sure do remember that key lime pie. This summer, I made it my mission to try and recreate that amazing Key Lime Pie.

So the reason I call this “Cheat” Lime Pie is because I didn’t actually use Key Limes. In fact, I’ve never even seen a key lime in my life. I just had a few extra limes that I wanted to make use of. I’m sure that the pie would taste better with key limes, but my palate’s not refined enough for that, so I was pleased with my regular old limes. Feel free to use whatever limes you please with this recipe. It turns out the pie is actually really easy to make. I ended up using sour cream, which made the pie a little more tart and, I think, a little smoother. If you would rather have a less tart pie, than just replace the sour cream with 3 egg yolks. I ended up with a pie that had a relatively small amount of filling, so in the future I would consider doubling the filling, or adding another can of condensed milk for some extra sweetness.

Because the pie was a little more tart due to the sour cream, I decided to whip up (hehe) some rose water whipped cream. The thing with rose water is that it’s a little strong, so you have to be careful with the amount you put in. I thought the whipped cream had the perfect amount of flavoring to balance out the tart, but my brother thought it was a little overpowering, so maybe leave the rosewater out. Idk, it’s your life, do what you want. So what is your must-have summertime dessert?

Key lime Pie Recipe

Crust:

– 1 1/2 cup crushed graham crackers

– 1/2 cup sugar

– 6 Tbsp butter, melted

Filling:

– 1 can (14 oz) condensed milk

– 1/2 cup sour cream

– 3/4 cup lime juice

– 1 Tbsp lime zest

Rosewater Whipped Cream:

– 1 cup (1/2 pint) Heavy Cream

– 1 tsp Rosewater

– 2 tsp sugar

Instructions:

For the crust, mix the graham crackers and sugar together. Add the melted butter and then stir until combined. Grease a 9″ pie pan. Evenly apply the crust, so that it comes completely up the sides. Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes, until set. Take out and let cool a bit.

For the filling, combine sour cream with condensed milk. Mix in lime zest and lime juice until smooth and creamy. Pour filling into pie crust and bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes, or until filling is no longer jiggly. Let cool to room temperature, and then put in the fridge for at least an hour.

While the pie is cooling, combine rosewater, sugar, and heavy cream. Beat on high until stiff peaks appear. Decorate the pie with a piping bag or just slap it on, like I did. Garnish with limes. Try not to eat the pie all in one sitting.